Western Railroad Discussion > Savage Chevron El Segundo Switcher 6/26/18

The El Segundo Chevron refinery (El Segundo CA) is switched by a Savage rail crew using a 2GS14B genset. There is no way go get into the refinery to take photos (even when the refinery gives tours, you have to surrender your phone as there is a ZERO photos policy). During the longest days of summer you have about a 25% chance of seeing them if you show up at the gate around 8PM (I think they generally come out between 8 and 10, but with sundown at 8:07, the blue-hour (or blue 15 minutes here) are the only chance for shots.

On my third try this summer, last night I got them coming out around 8:20 or so. It was a touch late for good shots (and the cloud cover didn't help either), but was nice to get anything of this elusive job. Last time I saw them was two years ago (all efforts failed last year). There was a new crew who asked me why I was taking their pics (the old crew seemed to know what railfans were). 

Image one is of the train shoving out of Chevron. This is ex-Pacific Electric track. It is now Cheveron west of the gate and Union Pacific east of the gate (although UP never crosses the street here).

Image two is of the same shove going away. The track to the right leads the BNSF (both UP and BNSF have small yards here for Chevron).

Image three is a couple hundred yards down the UP line as the genset returns light to pick up its BNSF pulls.

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Image four is a pan attempt (almost worked) of the engine returning to Chevron.

Images five and six are of the train, now with BNSF pulls, heading towards the BNSF line. At this point it was too dark for my Canon to do much more, so I left before they came back to Cheveron.

For anyone else interested in fanning this job, be smart and stay 100% on public property (or in the shopping center parking lots). Also, don't be surprsied if you drive all the way up there and they don't come out. The way to know they are coming is not seeing the train, but rather seeing a guard truck drive up and open the front gate. If there is no truck at the gate yet and the light is nearly gone, you're not going to see it until later that night.

 

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FANTASTIC shots. I have Googled sat /street view of this location, and you are right, stay on public property.

 

Look ma, it's an NW-5!!  Love the shots, mass props for being out there without a heavily
armed escort.

Out

This unit might  be a SW1200RS from the CNR

There was an SW1200RS working here in the mid 1990s. There have been a number of Geeps since then. This genset has Blumberg trucks.

I am assuming you told that new crew there was a bunch of nuts roaming around with a cameras trying to take train pictures as a hobby.

I tried to say I'm a railfan, but I don't think they heard (trains are noisy).

Nice results, Charles.  Well worth the effort.
GK

EL Segundo CA is a super safe area no hoodlums close by. The only problem would be the speed of the cars on Pacific Coast Highway really freeway speeds. Also less than a mile from the beach at EL Porto.

Is it a daily op?

Posted from iPhone

Saturday is iffy, Sunday is unknown to me. Monday to Friday I think it does run. When it leaves the refinery however can diverge by two hours easily. I know for sure there are days it doesn't leave until 10PM.
 

Back in the SP days was six days a week off saturday.

Always nice to see RR action from my old stomping grounds. (my last job in So Cal was in Culver City)

Thanks for your post Charles...

Last time I was at the Tosoro Refinery in Anacortes, Washington this is what Savage was using

Thanks again Charles !

Jay Roberts
Sumner, WA.

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